Update from /Film editor Peter Sciretta:Ryan Stewart points out on Twitter that “1952 is big in UFO lore. It’s the year Project Blue Book started.” This might give us some clues to what the project is about. According to wikipedia:

The 1952 Washington D.C. UFO incident, also known as the Washington flap or the Washington National Airport Sightings, was a series of unidentified flying object reports from July 12 to July 29, 1952, over Washington D.C.

After making a name for himself as a top animation director with films like The Incredibles and Ratatouille, Brad Bird took his first foray into live-action with last year’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. The film drew high praise from critics and ordinary filmgoers alike, proving that Bird could do both forms of filmmaking equally well. And for now, it seems Bird plans to stick with live-action. Though he has a few other projects simmering at the moment, Bird’s next step is likely to be Damon Lindelof‘s 1952, the mysterious sci-fi project we first heard about last summer.

1952 comes out of a deal that Disney struck with Lindelof last year for an original sci-fi script, the first such project for Lindelof. Although Lindelof has extensive experience working on television — he co-created Lost, as I’m sure you remember — he’s only recently moved into features with the comic book adaptation Cowboys & Aliens, the Alien not-quite-prequel Prometheus, and next year’s Star Trek sequel.

In addition to writing (with Jeff Jensen), Lindelof is also lined up to produce 1952. Very little was known about 1952 when it was first announced, and we don’t really know any more about it now. The most obvious interpretation of the title is that it’s referencing the year, but even that hasn’t been confirmed at this point. Still, I’m betting that for fans of Lindelof and Bird, their names alone are reason enough to keep an eye on this project. I know it is for me.

Whatever 1952 is, it apparently has “mutli-platform aspirations, and Disney intends for it to become a large-scale tentpole film.” The studio set Bird to direct the film with the hope that it would be his next directorial effort. As of right now, the goal is to get production underway next year after plenty of time to prep. That’d mean putting Bird’s other potential projects, including his long-gestating San Francisco earthquake film 1906 and the naval creature featureHere There Be Monsters, on hold for the moment.